Mary Blackmon is an entrepreneur. Plain and simple, this woman knows how to sell and to sell it well. Over the years, she has taken her parent’s farm-life legacy and made it her own. Her brand, Farm Star Living supports farm to table initiatives and food brands across America. By using her “character” Farm Star Mary she is able to reach an untapped market in a social media landscape that most food brands find inaccessible.
I was brought in to work with Mary under the North Delta Network brand, but quickly we found that our relationship worked better in a direct format. Working hand in hand with her assistant and producer Brie, we crafted numerous recipe videos, food photography, and long-form content that delighted her customers and her viewers.
Working with the Farm Star Living brand was a huge undertaking. Not only was it my mission to push the brand forward in quality and visuals, but it was also my job to be organized and deliver on time to meet her demanding clients while also focusing on my own clients as well.
Being located in Atlanta meant nearly every month coordinating an 8-hour drive with a car packed head-to-toe in gear.
Filming recipe videos (a la Tasty by Buzzfeed) introduced a new challenge: how to light and film overhead. Other challenges included a polluted audio environment, as she lived right next to an airport, and managing the content from 4-10 videos at a time. Another challenge was also coordinating photographing and styling the food photography with limited lighting equipment for stills.
My biggest takeaway from this project: be good to your clients as they’ll be good to you.
Mary’s Minutes
Long-form social media meant to educate while promoting a product.
Green Giant Fresh
Our biggest success to date, and a highlight of my professional freelance career, was directing and producing three scripted commercials for the Green Giant Fresh brand.
GGF had become so impressed with our work that they wanted to feature their new potato product across gas station pump screens across America.
I worked closely with Brie and Mary to script and concept these shoots as well as assist in casting. We pulled in a beginner camera OP, local sound tech, and a couple of PA’s to assist in production.
Day-of duties included directing and pulling focus. Entertaining the client and working with their suggestions on the fly. We shot 2 commercials in 1 day at 1 location and the third in a separate location with pickups done in Mary’s interior home.